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What the hell is this? Though the two-record sprawl of London Calling--with its exploratory mutations of reggae, rockabilly, and even disco--proved that the Clash weren't content to lie fallow in a punk-rock ghetto, nothing prepares you for Sandinista's messy melange. For 36 tracks (the Clash originally released this as a three-record set for not much more than the price of one), the band tackles everything in sight, including waltz, gospel, disco, children's ditties, funk, reggae, dub, delicate instrumentals, psychedelic explorations--hell, they even play a Clash rocker or two. Though many have said there is a single great album hidden among the three here, it's the pure chutzpah of Sandinista that makes it such a particular pleasure and a brain drain at the same time. It's the document of a band that can do anything and tries to do everything. It's the glorious sound of failure. And if that ain't the Clash, what is? --Tod Nelson

Most helpful customer reviews

Anytime you hear anyone talking about the greatest album in rock history with at least a dozen songs that they can't bear to listen to, you should immediately think of the Clash's masterpiece of musical diversity, "Sandinista!". Those who are only familiar with this band through the remarkable "London Calling" or their commercial breakthrough "Combat Rock" will undoubtedly be perplexed by the stupefying array of musical directions taken during this two CD set from 1980.No matter what you think as a listener, the stylistic mélange has a definite purpose: to show the universality of fundamental human concerns about oppression, violence, poverty, and despair, and also the universality of music itself, as an expression of these concerns. As The Only Band That Matters, the Clash's main strength has always been their songwriting: indignant, sardonic, but always heartfelt in their concern for the downtrodden. Anthems such as "Magnificent Seven", "Up In Heaven", "Police on My Back", and "The Call Up" are equal to anything in the band's oeuvre, and still serve to remind us of the ideals that once made rock music seem relevant. And sure it's tempting to skip over the more off-the-wall selections (some of which foreshadow the coming of so-called "world music" and some of which are just plain annoying), but that's taking the easy way out, and at this point in their career, the Clash just wasn't ready to do that. Perhaps we shouldn't either.But the simple fact is that most listeners today are less interested in the band's politics than in the music itself, and that's where the album's diversity can be problematic.Read more ›

this is at least 3, possibly 5, albums rolled into 1, so i'm not sure what the reasoning was behind this package.it is a difficult mix to listen to, hugely entertaining, but one can get lost in the various themes.i however have always totally loved it for it's sheer brilliance.for all his attitude, in joe's voice, you hear warmth, compassion, rage, as well as his trademark cockiness (& cockeneyness!)& (mick's deliberate or not?)comic high-notes & trademark (london boy, love 'im!) banter.where do i start with the tracks, my faves: hitsville uk - "mutants, creeps & musclemen hyping-up the charts""something about england" the lyrics leave you with a chilly feeling that you never forget........"rebel waltz" is similar, almost ghostly......"let's go crazy" totally fab, carnival atmosphere, with the cops joining in with their macabre dance.......i love "version city" in the NYC radio - the "too chilled-out" DJ, "hey! what about some music man?""look here" i love that, '30s music man, i'd love to go to china, i'd love to go across the sea....."if music could talk" - i love this double conversation tone.the musical beats here are great too, a nice diversity between rock/reggae beats thrown in with those thrashiing punk guitars, plus any number of little quirks, instrumentally & vocally/lyrically - great fun!the album is one for puzzle-lovers & is totally whacky, the first challenge is to sort the tracks to form some chronologic of what each is about, but this is fun! and once you get past that, you can appreciate each individually for what it is, & get the gist of the meaning, so, not a light album, it requires a lorra, lorra listenin' - but, hey, enjoy.......

You have to listen to the laments that the Clash wail on this record. The problems of man are addressed here and contemplated to the beat of what was, at the time, an amalgom of styles. What I think many reviewers are missing is that the song is the story is the message is the album. There was a lot to be said and this band took it upon themselves to say it. Read the lyrics and let them sit a while and you will realize that the music is only background.If the music on a record were the only relevent feature of an artist, you would never hear artists like Woodie Guthrie, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, and others...The reason this record is important is that this group of musicians decided that it really didn't matter what style accompanied the message. They were doing what they wanted to do, and that is what the spirit of punk is, in my mind anyway. Not to suggest that George Bush is the ultimate punk, mind you. He's an ass. The Clash loved playing music, and we are fortunate that CBS funded such profound creativity.Say what you will, but I think Outkast could not have made such a record if the Clash had not gone so far out on a limb so long ago. If you are too impatient to listen to the story, you should not buy this record

I'm sorry. The reviewers who want to defend the "artistic vision" of SANDINISTA! have a tin ear. I want to argue that this album is a bad album that contains a masterpiece. That is the consensus, and I think it is correct. For the vast majority of Clash fans, the only acceptable approach to this album is to create one's own anthology. Take the CDs, pick the individual cuts that you find essential, and stick with just those. You will end up with a disc that contains approximately two-fifths of the original album. Which songs to include will depend upon one's particular taste. Certain songs are beyond debate, and constitute some of the greatest songs in the Clash's catalog: "The Magnificent Seven," "Hitsville U.K.," "Someone Got Murdered," "Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)," the amazing "Police on My Back," and the great anti-war anthem "The Call Up." These are not good but great song, and easily withstand comparison to the best on THE CLASH and LONDON CALLING. But unfortunately many of the cuts are simply god awful schlock.History is replete with artists who are not able to exercise sufficient self-discipline to hone their work to perfection. Thomas Wolfe wrote fascinating prose, but it took Maxwell Perkins to pare it down into something readable. But too many artists succumb to the idea that more is more, while often less really is more. Those who want you to listen to the entire album do the genuinely great songs on it an injustice. I think of the famous anecdote concerning Michelangelo. Upon buying some marble from the quarry, he selected a piece that he insisted contained an angel, and that he had to let it out.Read more ›